Jesus said that His sheep would hear His voice (John
10). Prayer is meant to be a two-way
conversation, where we speak to God and He speaks back to us (Jeremiah 33:3).
Hearing the voice of God is the ability in our spirit and
mind to sense what God is saying. I have
personally never heard the audible voice of God, but on many occasions I know I
have heard Him speak: through His Word,
impressions in my spirit, thoughts in my mind, pictures in my imaginations,
lyrics of a song, circumstances in my life, etc. God speaks in many ways. How exciting that we can hear His voice!!!
The following are some important principles about hearing
God, as well as some practical suggestions in hearing God’s voice.
1.
Jesus
makes prayer possible.
It is only through the blood of Jesus that we can be
forgiven of our sins and come boldly come into His holy presence (Hebrews
10). When we repent of our sin and put
our trust in Christ alone for our salvation, we are forgiven of all our sin and
given a relationship with God that allows to come to Him 24/7 and commune in
prayer.
2.
Jesus
wants us to hear His voice.
Any healthy relationship has regular interaction that
involves talking and listening. It is no
different in our relationship with God. He
wants us to talk to Him, and He wants to talk to us. How cool that God is a speaking God. He speaks to those who are still enough to
listen. Perhaps we don’t hear because we
are too busy and preoccupied to really listen.
“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a
voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21).
3.
We are
“wired” for sound.
When we receive Christ into our life, we receive the
indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13; Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit is the very presence and
power of God that enables us to hear His voice.
Practical advice in
hearing God
1.
Remove
things that cloud your heart and mind.
This can be very difficult because we are bombarded with
messages and information, namely due to things such as television and smart
phones. Ask God to show you what things
you need to reduce from your life to enable you to hear Him more clearly. I can assure you the benefits will far
outweigh the costs.
2.
Be
still before the Lord.
This is when you get quiet, and stop talking. You just listen. And you wait for God to bring things to your
mind that He wants to say to you. “Be
still and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10).
This point applies to your formal quiet times but also
throughout the day, learning to be still before Him even when you are driving
or doing other stuff. It is having a
still heart and not being so A.D.D. as we go about our day.
3.
Take
extended time away with God.
This is when you get away for a ½ day or full day or a retreat. I cannot tell you how valuable it is to do
this, especially in our very busy culture.
Getting away for some extended quiet will enhance your ability to hear
from God, be with Him, draw near to Him, and tune your heart to Him.
4.
Prayerfully
meditate on God’s Word.
When you read God’s Word, do it prayerfully and not just
mentally. It is not a mere mental
exercise where you are just getting information. Instead, you are meditating on His Word and
asking Him to speak directly to you through it.
5.
Be
receptive to God’s “downloads”.
I believe God has some cool things to download to us, but we
are often too busy to receive it. Seek
to be in a mode of receptivity, so that if God has something to say to you, you
will indeed hear it. And when He does
speak, be sure you do this next point:
6.
Write
down what God says!
Recently a friend of mine said, “If God goes to the trouble
of speaking to us, the least we can do it write it down.” Journaling is a great way to dialogue with
God. The Psalms are basically King David
and others journaling their times with God.
Hab. 2:1-2 says, “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the
ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to
give to this complaint. Then the LORD replied:
‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald
may run with it.’”
Another way to journal is to actually write down questions
you have for God and then record what you sense Him saying to you in response
to your question.
7.
Test
everything with the written Word.
God has spoken in His infallible and inerrant Word (i.e.
Bible). He will never say anything
contrary to this book! The more you know
the written Word, the better you can discern the voice of God, especially when
you have various subjective impressions.
Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology, says that we should not ignore
subjective impressions, but realize those means of guidance must always be
tested through the Bible.
8.
Get
godly counsel when unsure.
The book of Proverbs tells us that in the abundance of
counsel there is wisdom. God has given
us the body of Christ to help guide us and protect us from foolish
decisions. We need the wisdom and input
of more mature followers of Christ. I
certainly hope you have this in your life.
9.
Never
make a major decision on subjective guidance.
Unless God clearly appears to you in an undeniable manner, I
would caution one from making a major decision on the more subjective aspects
of guidance (e.g., prophetic word, dream, vision, impression, etc.). For me, God has used the more subjective
means to either start the process that He will confirm in other ways. Or He uses the subjective to confirm
something He has already been showing me.
10.
Be
open to receiving something for another.
As you seek to hear God’s voice, sometimes He will speak to
you something that you are to share with another. I have often had this
happen. It is fun to get a word for
someone else, and then to have him/her tell you how much it spoke to them.
We are so blessed to be in relationship with a God who still
speaks. God is, and He is not
silent. Have fun walking with the Lord
and seeking to hear His voice. You and I
won’t bat 1000 in this journey, but it is fun to seek to improve our “hearing
average” over time!
Email me your thoughts on this blog and how you experience
God speaking to you,
Pastor David;
davidholt08@gmail.com
